His Victoire, All Grown Up
by chipzixo
Summary: What if that was all she saw him as? A big brother - a best friend? In truth, he was scared of her reaction - his gut feeling told him that she'd reject him, and that she'd never love him back. Well, not in that way. Teddy and Victoire,canon :D


**Disclaimer; I don't own any of the stuff in this story. JK Rowling does. I just use it to play with the characters, and to partake in the occasional competition xD  
Written for the "19 and maybe some more years later" Next Generation Competition on the Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges Forum. You should go there, it's totally awesome.  
So are you, if you got that reference!  
****Anyway, it's a TeddyxVictoire fic, inspired by some lyrics from Evanescence's My Immortal, funnily enough :') Prompt lyrics are written at the top.  
Wish me luck folks! :D **

His Victoire, All Grown Up.

_When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears_

_When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears_

_And I held your hand through all of these years_

_But you still have_

_All of me_

It wasn't something Teddy Lupin went about doing everyday - telling his best friend he was in love with her, that is - and so naturally, he didn't really know how to go about it. The only thing he knew was that he had to. If he didn't, then he'd lose her. Forever. She'd go back to school and find some wild, easy man-whore who'd change her beyond all recognition, or some smooth-talking, charming Casanova who'd whisk her off her feet and gallop on horseback off into the sunset, Victoire's long, blonde hair blowing in the wind, leaving a trail behind her...

_Woah, Teddy, focus._

Well, anyway, those two things were exactly what he _didn't _want. Which is why he had to confess his undying love for her _today_. He couldn't let his nerves get the better of him. Not again.

Of course, he'd tried countless times before to tell her that he was in love with her - he had been for a while, after all - whilst they were still at school together, but Teddy always was too nervous for his own good. Whether he'd inherited his hopelessness with the opposite sex genetically or the Weasleys had just rubbed off on him remained to be seen, but the fact was, Teddy had been in love with Victoire Weasley for over a year now, and she still didn't know.

In truth, he was scared of her reaction - his gut feeling told him that she'd reject him, and that she'd never love him back. Well, not in _that _way.

Teddy and Victoire had been friends since - well, since forever. Since Victoire had been born, a year after Teddy. He was her first friend, her best friend, the big brother she'd never had - all rolled into one. If she had a problem, she'd go to Teddy. If she didn't understand something, she'd go to Teddy. If someone was mean to her, she'd go to Teddy - and oh, would Teddy react.

_The little girl's blonde hair falls across her face as she looks to her knees, not wanting to meet the boy's eyes. He's only a year older than her - him being 10 and her being 9 - but that's a big enough gap for Teddy to feel protective over his friend Victoire. He reaches a hand out to touch her shoulder, she sniffles behind her long, blonde veil._

_"Come on, Vicki," he pleads for what feels like the millionth time, "tell me what's wrong!"_

_She lifts her head slightly, her hair breaking apart enough for Teddy to look straight into her clear blue eyes, which are brimming with tears. His own eyes widen - who did this to her? _Nobody _makes his Victoire cry. _

_"They- they were laughing, Teddy," she says quietly, her voice cracking through the tears, "at my name. At my Dad. They said- they said-" Teddy lets out a soothing 'shh' as the tears start to well up again, "they said that I was weird, because I never play with them when they're out. That I - that I had no friends and I was a- a-"_

_She starts to cry again and Teddy pulls her into a hug, already formulating a plan in his ten-year-old brain. He pulls away, Victoire looks at him questioningly._

_"Who, Vicki? Who said that?"_

_"The- the kids who live by here, Teddy. They come and play on the beach and in the forest-"_

_Teddy stands up, brushing down his muggle-jeans, now slightly grass stained from where they'd been kneeling. He'd found Victoire right in the corner of the garden of Shell Cottage, crying on her own. Bill and Fleur were preoccupied with their younger children, Dominique and Louis, and hadn't even noticed. _

_"They're on the beach?" Teddy asks, looking down to where Victoire is still kneeling. _

_She nods."Why?"_

_"Come on," he says, holding out his hand to her, "stand up."_

_He pulls the little girl to her feet and smiles softly, reaching forward and brushing the tears from her cheeks. "Don't cry, Vicki," he says, still smiling, "they're only some stupid muggles."_

_Sniffing, Victoire's tears stop and a smile begins to creep up on the corners of her lips. Teddy takes Victoire's little hand in his and begins to lead her to the back gate of the house, leading to the beach outside, knowing that Bill and Fleur won't mind (or notice) if they go there for a while. "Come with me, Vicki," he says as they reach the gate, and he unlocks it with one hand, never dropping hers, "we'll find those kids."_

_And as much as he knows he'll get into trouble, it doesn't take Teddy Lupin long to find the kids they were looking for. They're playing by the sea, three of them, under the shade of some old, withering trees. The oldest is only his age at most. Teddy smirks._

Nobody _makes his friends cry._

_"Hey! You!"_

Teddy smiled at the memory in the steam of Platform 9 and 3/4. He _had _got into trouble for making that branch nearly squash those kids, no matter how much he insisted to Bill, Fleur and his Grandma that it had been an accident. Besides, it was never going to hurt them, Teddy just wanted to give them a little scare. And it worked. And the best bit? It made Victoire smile. She was more than thankful.

_The little girl grins as she pulls her friend into the biggest hug she can manage, being only nine years old. As she pulls away, she grins straight up to him - he's taller than her, he always has been - even with her missing teeth. "Teddy! That was brilliant!"_

_Teddy smiles back, feeling happy again now that the sparkle's back in Victoire's eyes. She bites her lip, her smile falling._

_"I'm sorry you got in trouble, though."_

_Teddy grins. "That's okay. I'll be okay - just so long as you're okay?"_

_Victoire nods enthusiastically, pulling Teddy into another forceful hug. She doesn't let go for a while._

_"I don't know what I'm going to do without you, Teddy."_

_Teddy pulls away, frowning and panicking a little. "What do you mean? Where are you going?"_

_Victoire shakes her head. "No, I mean when you go to Hogwarts. I don't know what I'll do." She looks to her shoes, tracing a little pattern in the sand. The wind blows her hair across her face. Teddy lifts her head up, taking her hand._

_"I'm not going anywhere, Vicki. We're best friends."_

_The little girl's eyes seem to light up again. "Forever?"_

_"Forever and always," they hug again, and Teddy says quietly, "I'll always be here."_

Teddy snaps out of the memory and back into the present, quickly remembering why he was there at all. He could see the Potters just arriving through the entrance, as the first of the wizarding children began to file onto the train.

_Better get a move on._

As he began to search for Victoire, Teddy thought about the memory of that day at the beach. Apparently he'd lied when he said they'd always be best friends, because that wasn't enough for him any more. He was in _love _with her.

Which brought him back to his earlier fears of rejection, stopping him in his tracks as he stepped onto the train. What if that was all she saw him as? A big brother - a best friend? The kids on the beach always teased them about being 'boyfriend and girlfriend' when they were little, which, of course, was vehemently denied by both parties involved, despite the fact they were always holding hands. They were just friends.

Did Victoire still feel like that?

"Hey! Do you want to move out of the way, mate?"

The angry voice of a sixth-year brought Teddy back to the present, as he wheeled around to face the speaker. "Oh, right, yeah."

He stumbled out of the way as he had stumbled over his words, trying to clear his mind for what he was about to do. He strolled down the corridor, half-heartedly looking in the windows of every compartment, seriously considering giving up and getting off at the next exit of the train.

"Hey, Teddy?"

He spun around so fast on his heels at the sound of that voice that he almost fell over. Instead, he just stumbled forward, just about staying on his feet, and nearly falling straight into Victoire.

Merlin, she looked beautiful in her head girl uniform.

"Ha,ha-Hi Vicki!" he said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, "how did you know it was me? From the back?"

His brain screamed at him. _WHAT KIND OF A QUESTION WAS THAT?_

Victoire raised one eyebrow, a smirk crawling up one side of her mouth. "Well, how many other people do you know who are so cursed in the hand-eye co-ordination department that they can't walk straight-"

"Hand-eye co-ordination? I've got that! I'm a Quidditch player, Vicki!"

"You fell over your own feet, Ted," she giggled a little as he couldn't think of a comeback. He melted a little as she continued, "anyway, the bright turquoise hair was a bit of a giveaway, too. Which is turning pink, by the way - what's the matter with you?"

Teddy's eyes grew wide as his blush spread to his face. He let out a nervous laugh. "Can we - er, go into a compartment?"

Victoire's eyebrows furrowed a little. "Yeah, sure." She walked into the empty compartment behind her and he followed her, sliding the door shut as he got inside. Before turning to face her, he took a deep breath. _Okay, _he thought, _just do it. Just say it. Just-_

"So, what's up?"

Teddy's throat dried up as he turned around, smiling awkwardly. Victoire frowned again.

"Are... are you okay?" She went to touch his shoulder, Teddy flinched away. Victoire's frown deepened. "Teddy?"

All at once, Teddy became very interested in his shoes. He saw one of the longer pieces of fringe dangle infront of his eyes as his head fell - the hair was, indeed, pink.

_Oh, Merlin. Now or never._

"Well, you see," he coughed, "it's just that..."

He sighed. "You're going back to school this year on your own, and it's just that... well... you see-"

He didn't lift his head.

"Yeah?" Victoire sounded confused. Teddy sighed again.

"I-just-mean-that-if-you-come-back-with-some-really-fit-boyfriend-then-I-don't...I don't..."

He lifted his head, gulping. Victoire's eyebrows were lifted again now, her eyes so wide they were nearly bogging out of her head. And somehow, she was still the most beautiful person Teddy had ever seen.

"Teddy?" she asked quietly.

"What I mean to say, Vicki... we said we'd always be best friends, right?"

She nodded.

"Well, I don't - I mean, I need." He paused, looking back to his shoes. His hair was now full-on red.

"I think I love you, Vick."

There was an aching pause. It actually physically hurt. Teddy felt his hair fade to it's natural tawny-brown. He'd been right all along. She didn't love him... not in _that _way.

"Oh." It felt like an eternity before she broke the silence. But her words - no, her _word _made Teddy feel like he'd been stabbed in the chest.

So, this was rejection. Ron warned him he'd have to get used to it back in sixth year, when his first girlfriend broke up with him. But this hurt so much more.

"Teddy?"

"No, no it's fine. I'll go now, just give me a minute." He turned around, feeling his heart break.

"Teddy, wait."

He stopped with his hand on the door handle, never turning around. He moved his eyes as if to look over his shoulder but didn't turn his head.

"Teddy, look at me."

He turned around. Victoire was right infront of him. She took his hand.

"I'm sorry," he gushed, talking far too quickly to be socially acceptable, "I know, I'm like your brother, I took it too far - I'm just the guy who protects you, who you come to when you can't sleep or when the kids off the beach are being mean - you're someone elses, I know, I just hold your hand - I just thought that, maybe - I took it too far-"

"Teddy?"

He looked straight into her eyes. She was smiling. He swallowed. "Yeah?"

"Shut up."

And she kissed him - the most wonderful, passionate, unexpected kiss... and it took all Teddy's strength not to faint there and then, as his hair snapped back into shocking turquoise.

He didn't know how long they stood there. It could have been years.

"Oh. My. God."

Slowly, Victoire pulled her lips from Teddy's. Reluctantly, Teddy let her, never taking his eyes from hers. She looked into his - apparently they'd both forgot about their intruder.

"Ohmygod!"

Teddy's eyes slid slowly to face the new addition to the compartment. James Sirius Potter stood in the doorway, eyes popping out of their sockets, mouth almost on the floor. "What the hell are you two doing?"

Teddy smirked, never taking his hands away from Victoire's waist - wait, when did they get there? He couldn't remember. But he spoke quietly to James.

"Oh, you know. Just came to see her off."

James' expression broke into a mad grin. "Oh, this is _too _good," he declared, before running down the corridor and leaping out of the exit of the train. Teddy turned back to Victoire.

"Vicki? Are you sure about this?"

Victoire grinned as she fiddled with Teddy's collar, her eyes fluttering up to meet his.

"What are you on about, Ted? I was always yours. We already agreed that."

Teddy raised one eyebrow, Victoire smiled again, becoming very interested in his collar once more. "You already promised me Teddy, 'forever and always'. That's what you said on that beach. Do you remember?"

He smiled softly, tucking a loose bit of hair behind her ear. She looked up again, his smile mirrored on her face. Her eyes really were just beautiful.

"Of course I do." he said quietly, recounting their conversation, "Forever and always. I'll always be here. I'll wipe away your tears, i'll protect you from your fears and hold your hand all you want. You still have all of me to yourself, Vicki."

And then, entwining her fingers in his, she kissed him again.

"Of course I do," she murmured between kisses, "you always were my Teddy."

Teddy smiled inwardly, remembering the memories he'd replayed in his head not long earlier. And yet here she stood, his Victoire, all grown up.

He felt like laughing at his own nerves - who was he kidding? They'd always be each other's. They both knew that.

And Teddy Lupin could have died happy there and then.


End file.
